A hard rock band from Hamburg has won the opening slot for KISS’s concert July 31 at HersheyPark stadium in a worldwide online competition.

The Feens, whose first, self-produced CD came out less than two weeks ago, entered a competition that is giving one band from each of 22 U.S. markets KISS is playing the chance to open its shows. At the conclusion of the tour, KISS will choose the best of those bands to receive the grand prize that includes a $10,000 Guitar Center shopping spree.

Guitar Center(www.guitarcenter.com), the world’s largest musical instrument retailer, is sponsoring the contest.

Through online voting, The Feens was the top-rated band among 80 groups, including some from Maryland and New York, that entered for the Hershey show, band manager Kevin Shire said. More than 1,000 entered nationwide.

The contest rules then had the top five bands for each venue listened to by KISS, who chose the winner.

Shire said that on Tuesday, he got a call from Guitar Centers Marketing and Promotions Division Jake Cheung telling him The Feens had been chosen to open the Hershey show.

The Feens have been together just six months. They are guitarist Zach Ernst, drummer Matt Liptak, bassist J McCabe and singer-songwriter Mike Narvaez. Some of the band’s influences are Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.

Just five days after the big date, The Feens also will open for the band Y&T at Allentown’s Sterling Hotel on Aug 5.

KISS’s “The Hottest Show on Earth” North American tour begins Friday and continues through late September.

"We are giving bands across the country the mind-blowing chance to open for one of the greatest rock groups on the planet when KISS comes to their town,” KISS said in a statement.

“A lot of rock's greatest bands got their start opening for KISS including AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Rush, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Mötley Crüe among many others.Thirty-seven years ago someone gave KISS the opportunity to become the Hottest Band on Earth.Now, KISS and Guitar Center are returning the favor by offering unsigned bands the opportunity to open for KISS on The Hottest Show on Earth."

Guitar Center On-Stage program, developed to organically scout and launch unsigned, independent artists, last year was judged by Mötley Crüe and saw the winning band, The Last Vegas, go on to open for Mötley Crüe on tour and subsequently top iTunes critics’ 2009 “Rock Singles of the Year List” with their hit single “I’m Bad.”

Wow....pretty boring band...same old riffs over and over, monotone singing...nothing new or interesting...this is the best they could up to with out of 80 bands?? What happened to Rock n Roll?

Posted By: Actual Listener | Jul 22, 2010 10:48:00 AM

Congrats to the Feens. Great job! Always nice to see local musicians doing something like this. Listener: one man's "boring" is another's good music. That's the beauty of the art form.

Posted By: Lyn | Jul 22, 2010 11:28:57 AM

The Feens worked hard and earned this amazing opportunity ,big congrats to them!!! actual listener: you were obviously NOT listening to The Feens!

Posted By: Tracy | Jul 22, 2010 3:02:39 PM

Tracy I was only being sarcastic...all the best!!! Rock on. I'm always at the Pappy's show.

Posted By: Actual Listener | Jul 22, 2010 7:50:54 PM

actual listener ..it's cool didn't know you were being sarcastic or if you were hating. Thanks for clearing that up, I was a little upset when i saw the first comment was negative ..glad your a fan!!!

Posted By: Tracy engle | Jul 23, 2010 3:16:57 PM

This band is fantastic. I just did a review on their CD.

Posted By: mike McKenna | Jul 24, 2010 5:45:47 PM

No disrespect, but I'm not really sure why everyone is making a big deal about this band....there really isn't anything meaningful being said or played. But I guess you have to target some audience to be successful.

Posted By: Jim C. | Jul 27, 2010 3:23:30 PM

HATERS...they are everywhere!!! This band def deserved to win!!

Posted By: Tracy engle | Aug 26, 2010 5:26:49 PM

These guys sound fantastic. They put on a great live show as well. Check 'em out if you get a chance.

JOHN J. MOSER has been around long enough to have seen the original Ramones in a small club in New Jersey, U2 from the fourth row of a theater and Bob Dylan's born-again tours. But he also has the number for All-American Rejects' Nick Wheeler on his cell phone, wrote the first story ever done on Jack's Mannequin and hung out in Wiz Khalifa's hotel room.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

JODI DUCKETT: As The Morning Call's assistant features editor responsible for entertainment, she spends a lot of time surveying the music landscape and sizing up the Valley's festivals and club scene. She's no expert, but enjoys it all — especially artists who resonated in her younger years, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Tracy Chapman, Santana and Joni Mitchell.

KATHY LAUER-WILLIAMS enjoys all types of music, from roots rock and folk to classical and opera. Music has been a constant backdrop to her life since she first sat on the steps listening to her mother’s Broadway LPs when she was 2. Since becoming a mother herself, she has become well-versed on the growing genre of kindie rock and, with her son in tow, can boast she has seen a majority of the current kid’s performers from Dan Zanes to They Might Be Giants.

STEPHANIE SIGAFOOS: A Jersey native raised in Northeast PA, she was reared in a house littered with 8-tracks, 45s and cassette tapes of The Beatles, Elvis, Meatloaf and Billy Joel. She also grew up on the sounds of Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw and can be found traversing the countryside in search of the sounds of a steel guitar. A fan of today's 'new country,' she digs mainstream/country-pop crossovers like Lady Antebellum and Sugarland and other artists that illustrate the genre's diversity.